The Top 20 Instagram pictures from the 2012 Gumball 3000

The Top 20 Instagram pictures from the 2012 Gumball 3000

Posted by Limited Slip Blog on June 1, 2012 in News, Scott Villeneuve, Supercars

Well, there you have it.  The Gumball 3000 is over, and the pictures have been rolling in. These gems come from SportsCarHunter who has a habit of finding the best of the best pictures out there.  He gave me the alright to share the top 20 with you, and to see the full list of 50, you can go here and read all about it.

Photo Rank #20

Why it’s good: A pre-rally close-up of the CTS-V wagon, plus the rain, equals a great photo.

Photo Rank #19

Why it’s good: Team Oranje’s SV, pre-Gumball 3000 livery, soaked head to toe. Collecting its thoughts before facing the competition.

Photo Rank #18

Why it’s good: The Caddy takes center stage in the Motor City. Stunning.

Photo Rank #17

Why it’s good:The faces on the Maserati GranTurismo and Ferrari FF are elegantly captured here. True Italian art. In front of a McDonald’s. Gumball.

Photo Rank #16

Why it’s good: The ’57 Bel Air had its share of issues on the rally. Maybe the hood being up half the trip was meant on purpose to fully embody the #doitnaked theme?

Photo Rank #15

Why it’s good: A Ferrari 458 Italia is stunning from any angle. Throw in a dreary New York City spring day and you’ve got a photo dripping with appeal.

Photo Rank #14

Why it’s good: Imagine taking a quick drive to the store only to be overtaken by aLamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 SV. Now that’s a moment worth sharing.

Photo Rank #13

Why it’s good:

Two Rolls, a Bentley, and an Aston. It’s a beautiful UK invasion.

Photo Rank #12

Why it’s good: The Morgan Three Wheeler was an absolute hit on the rally, but seeing it out in the elements, with the leather tarp soaking up the raindrops… This photo takes you right to NYC and makes you ponder how a 3,000 mile journey would feel like behind the wheel of this rally car.

Photo Rank #11

Why it’s good: The taillights of the Nissan GT-R hint at the ninja fueled fury under the hood. You don’t want to mess with this. Back away from the vehicle. Slowly.

Photo Rank #10

Why it’s good: Seriously, why didn’t you walk away when we told you to? Dumb, dumb, dumb. Now you will die at the hands of fire and Godzilla venom. Goodbye.

Photo Rank #9

Why it’s good: Here we have a pinnacle of Italian performance, the 458 Italia, escaping the final rays of sunlight, lost in the US southwest desert. It’s magnificent.

Photo Rank #8

Why it’s good: I could go on and discuss the creativity behind the Lambo’s wrap, but I won’t. Instead…I’ll just…stutter…and…..DAMNNNNNNNNNN.

Photo Rank #7

Why it’s good: Fans camping overpasses is a common Gumball sight. Being so excited that you flash the Lambo speeding by? That’s Gumball fever baby.

Photo Rank #6

Why it’s good: There are PLENTY of good Bugatti Veyron photos out there. This one is different – literally sucks you in and assaults your senses 1001 times over.

Photo Rank #5

Why it’s good: If you haven’t seen the Top Gear episode where Richard Hammond drives the Morgan Three Wheeler on the Simply Sausages track, I’m about to ruin it for you, he’s giggling just like Morgan himself. There’s a reason why this team won the 2012 Spirit of the Gumball Trophy.

Photo Rank #4

Why it’s good: The Shelby Cobra is undeniably a sexy car. Many great photo’s of Maximillion’s ride were taken. This one in particular succeeds by doing justice to the car, the maker, the driver, and the rally. Very, very well done.

Photo Rank #3

Why it’s good: The 2012 Gumball started off as a sloppy affair. It was wet. Very wet. Taking pictures at speed in these conditions are absurdly difficult. While this Ferrari may not win every style award, this specific photo screams, “I AM AN FF AND I LAUGH IN THE FACE OF THUNDER! HA HA HA!”

Photo Rank #2

Why it’s good: Team Salamone’s Lamborghini Aventador captured plenty of camera flashes throughout the rally. This moment, the night before the start, is the best of them all.

Photo Rank #1

Why it’s good: A New York City cop shepherds the Gumballers to the starting grid. A 3000 mile cat and mouse chase is about to begin.

Wolfsburg, 2012-06-02

Volkswagen Group makes extensive structural and management realignment

• Prof. Dr. Winterkorn: “Important building block for implementing Strategy 2018 –

  stronger management links reflect strong growth” 

• New Group Board of Management function for “China” to be led by 

  Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann

• Leif Östling to take charge of Group Board of Management 

  “Commercial Vehicles” function 

• Extensive senior management reorganization also at brand level

Volkswagen is giving extra momentum to its Strategy 2018 with an extensive structural and management realignment. “Our company has grown strongly and become more international in recent years. This fundamental reorganization is the right response to the increasing challenges. At the same time we are laying the foundations for keeping the Group and its brands on their successful course even in a difficult market environment”, Board of Management CEO Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn said on Saturday. This followed the Supervisory Board’s approval of the planned measures at an extraordinary meeting.

Under the reorganization a new Board of Management function for “China” will be set up at Group level, thus underpinning the significance of the largest sales market in the world. The Volkswagen Group delivered some 2.3 million vehicles in the China region in the 2011 fiscal year and reported a pro rata operating profit there of €2.6 billion. Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, latterly Group Board of Management member with responsibility for “Commercial Vehicles”, will head the new function. The commercial vehicles business has become the second strong pillar for the Volkswagen Group in recent years. The further structuring of the “Commercial Vehicles” function in the Group Board of Management under the leadership of Leif Östling now paves the way for close cooperation between the MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brands to leverage synergies and jointly harness the substantial worldwide growth potential in this segment. In this context, the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand will become part of the Commercial Vehicles business area going forward.In his new function, Leif Östling, President and Chief Executive Officer of Scania until August 31, will be supported by a team comprised of managers from MAN, Scania and Volkswagen who will further networking and cooperation among the companies involved. In addition to these measures at Group level, several important changes will also be made at brand level: • As a member of the Executive Committee of the Volkswagen Group, Dr. Georg Pachta-Reyhofen, Chief Executive Officer of MAN SE, takes on additional responsibility for the Group-wide coordination of the industrial engines business and for MAN Power Engineering. Anders Nielsen, latterly Head of Production and Logistics on the Scania Executive Board, will become Chief Executive Officer of MAN Truck & Bus AG. Martin Lundstedt, currently Head of Franchise and Factory Sales on the Scania Executive Board, takes over as Chief Executive Officer at Scania. • Dr. Eckhard Scholz, currently member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at ŠKODA, has been named Speaker for the Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Hanover and will also hold responsibility for Technical Development. • The new member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at ŠKODA is Dr. Frank Welsch, currently Head of Bodywork Development at the Volkswagen brand. • Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber, currently Speaker for the Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, has been appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bentley Motors in Crewe and President of Bugatti. • Wolfgang Dürheimer, CEO of Bentley and President of Bugatti, moves to Audi in Ingolstadt to become the member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Technical Development. At the same time, Luca de Meo, currently Head of Marketing at the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen brand, becomes member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at Audi. Dr. Bernd Martens, currently Head of New Product Start-ups in Volkswagen Group Purchasing, takes over as member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Purchasing at Audi.These and further management appointments will chiefly come into effect on September 1, 2012.The Volkswagen Group has without exception made all of these Board of Management appointments by taking senior managers from within the Company, including three female top managers who will assume responsibility at brand board of management level. “We are delighted that our Group has become a sought-after address for the best brains in the automotive industry. Thanks to our focussed recruitment drive of recent years, we have put together a top management team in the auto business. With the present changes, we have drawn on our own resources to further strengthen cross-brand international links and cooperation among management”, Board of Management member for Human Resources Dr. Horst Neumann explained.Commenting on the upcoming changes, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn said: “Our clear goal is to continue our successful course of recent years with great momentum and stability. I am convinced that now more than ever, the Volkswagen Group has the right people in the right positions to make our Strategy 2018 a success.” Winterkorn also reiterated the Company’s unaltered management principles: “The multi-brand strategy is, and will remain, the foundation of Volkswagen’s success. All brands have a high degree of operational autonomy and responsibility. At the same time, we are now further intensifying knowledge transfer and management links within the Group. That is how we can leverage synergies and consistently harness growth opportunities – to the benefit of each individual brand and the Group as a whole.”

http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/info_center/en/news/2012/06/Volkswagen_Group_makes_extensive_structural_and_management_realignment.html

Of Course I #WantAnR8

Audi North America CEO De Nysschen resigns

Audi North America CEO De Nysschen resigns

Dear Volkswagen Group, 

This is my official request to be considered for the now vacant position of CEO of Audi North America. Please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Sincerely, 

Joseph Burtoni

Back to the article:

Johan De Nysschen, CEO of Audi's North American operations, has announced that he is leaving the company after nearly 20 years with the brand. According to Forbes, De Nysschen said the following in an e-mail to dealers and colleagues:
"These have truly been the best years of my life, and I know the best years for Audi still lie ahead. It is a magnificent company, a magnificent brand and I shall watch the continued progress of the four rings with interest and envy."

Audi has yet to issue an official statement on the matter, but a spokesperson from the company has confirmed the news. "He is moving to another job, we believe it's in the industry," Brad Stertz, Public Relations Manager for Corporate Communications, told Autoblog this afternoon. De Nysschen has been at the helm of Audi NA for over seven years, presiding over tremendous growth.

Autoblog has also learned that Mark Del Rosso, presently the company's COO in charge of its sales/dealership network, will be taking over in the interim.

Recent rumors have suggested that a sizable shakeup is coming in the Volkswagen Group's upper ranks across the globe, but de Nysschen's departure is said to be unrelated.

MTM-tuned KTM X-Bow R lays down the law in Monaco

MTM-tuned KTM X-Bow R lays 

down the law in Monaco

Policing the streets of Monte Carlo and the outlaying Monegasque countryside (little of it though there is) presents a unique set of challenges. Contrary to popular perception, there is an enforced speed limit in the Mediterranean principality. Enforcing it, however, is another issue, because Monaco has a higher concentration of supercars than 99-percent of the countries on the globe. So while they may get away with patrolling in puny Citroën diesels just across the border in France, the gendarmerie in Monaco needs something a little faster.

Solution: the KTM X-Bow. And not just any X-Bow – the X-Bow R, which tuner MTM has fortified to the tune of 400 horsepower. Considering the vehicle's 1,700-pound curb weight, that's enough juice to give this patrol vehicle a power-to-weight ratio capable of embarrassing most supercars. Of course, the KTM wouldn't be of much use in the rain, but considering the Austrian plates on this car, we get the distinct feeling that the officials haven't actually acquired any of these just yet – as much as KTM and MTM might like to sell them a few.